Instead, the Heat must now defeat the Wizards and then rely on the Hawks’ and Nets’ collection of reserves and developmental league players to win.

“I’m not talking about any other teams, but I’m OK with the fans talking about it and getting involved with it,” Spoelstra said. “That’s what’s exciting about this race, but I’m not talking about anybody else but our team and what we have to do tonight.”

Brooklyn announced Tuesday night it was sitting three players — Brook Lopez, Jeremy Lin and Trevor Booker — who weren’t injured. The Nets, who aren’t in the playoffs, cited “rest” as the reasoning. The Hawks’ decision to sit potentially six players was more understandable, because they have already secured the fifth seed in the Eastern Conference.

The events prompted Heat owner Micky Arison to tweet, “#HEATNation forget what other teams are doing...Let's make tomorrow night amazing. Win & 30 & 11 for the second half. So proud of this team!”

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Heat coach Erik Spoelstra on the All-Star break.

Heat coach Erik Spoelstra on the All-Star break.

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Heat coach Erik Spoelstra on the All-Star break.

Heat coach Erik Spoelstra on the All-Star break.

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Goran Dragic prepares for first NBA All-Star Game

Goran Dragic prepares for first NBA All-Star Game

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Heat guard Wayne Ellington on his father not being to watch him compete in the NBA 3-point contest

Heat guard Wayne Ellington on his father not being to watch him compete in the NBA 3-point contest

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Erik Spoelstra on the Heat's bad night in Philly.

Erik Spoelstra on the Heat's bad night in Philly.

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Goran Dragic on the Heat at the All-Star break.

Goran Dragic on the Heat at the All-Star break.

On Wednesday morning, the players and coaches sided with Arison.

“I don’t care,” Spoelstra said. “The only thing I want to talk about is us and the game tonight. Everybody is on their own journey.”

Added guard Josh Richardson: “I try not to get too much into that. Maybe guys are tired, maybe they’re doing it for some other reason. I can’t really say too much about it.”

Guard Goran Dragic was the closest to expressing disappointment with the decisions made the Nets and Hawks. He said it be would hard for him to sit a game with playoff implications.

"I'm not that guy who accepts that I'm going to just rest,” Dragic said. “I look at that a different way. This is my job that I love, what this means in my life. You never know when this is going to be your last game. So I want to enjoy every moment that I can. That's how I look on that."

Still, Dragic placed most of the blame on the Heat for their predicament. He singled out a loss to the New York Knicks on March 31. The Heat were playing at home against a Knicks team without Carmelo Anthony and Derrick Rose.

“It's always going to be that in the back of your head, back of your brain, `Oh man we lost that game,”’ Dragic said. “It doesn't make sense because those games are in the past. You cannot change nothing, especially that New York game. That really hurts at home.”